When it comes to diet, parents weigh in heavily with their children

A Yale study has found that children’s perceptions of their parents’ attitudes toward eating and weight have a big impact on them. According to the study, college-age women are particularly sensitive to perceived criticism from their mothers in forming their own attitudes and behaviors regarding food and weight. Similarly, male college students adopt attitudes toward eating and weight that are associated with their perception of their fathers’ attitudes and behaviors, the study shows.

The study, published last summer in Health Psychology was based on research conducted by Christina Baker, then a graduate student in psychology at Yale, and Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D., professor of psychology and epidemiology and director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders. They compared what the parents reported about their own attitudes and behaviors related to eating and weight with what their children perceived about their parents’ attitudes and behaviors. The investigators found some evidence that a discrepancy between the two might be a predictor of eating concerns.

Baker said one problem with previously available data is that much of it is based solely upon parents’ reports of their own attitudes and behaviors, which they might skew for fear of looking as if they passed along unhealthy eating and weight-loss habits. “A lot of people are concerned about blame being placed on parents,” said Baker. “This study points out that children’s perceptions are more important. The results really highlight the importance of good parent-child communication.”